Governance Excellence Awards - How to nominate

Nominations will be accepted from February 15 until April 15, 2013. Official rules and the nomination form will be available at on February 15, 2013. To review the judging criteria for each award category in advance, please visit http://cscs.org/EGA_Criteria.

Eligibility
The awards are open to all corporate secretaries, general counsel, governance and compliance officers at any company listed and head-quartered in Canada. Either individual or team nominations will be accepted.

In the case of each category, materials submitted in support of the nominations process should relate to activities that took place between January 1, 2012 and February 1, 2013 in order for the nomination to be considered by the judges.

The judging committee is solely responsible for selecting winners. CSCS staff and board members will not be directly or indirectly involved in nominating companies, selecting the shortlist, or choosing winners except for the Joyce Borden-Reed Award The judges’ decision is final and no negotiation will be entered into.

1. Nominate yourself, your team, or your peer(s). Start with an executive summary.
   Individuals and teams in the governance function of their organization, wishing to nominate themselves or their peers must submit an executive summary of 700 words or less via the EG Awards online submission page. The executive summary should outline the reasons for nomination and highlight the achievements, timeframe, context, involvement of other individuals or departments, and the objectives and outcomes of the highlighted activities or achievements.
    
2. Upload supporting materials.
   You will likely wish to support your nomination with related documentation. Supporting materials, anecdotes or evidence outlining the outstanding performance of the nominee(s) in the selected category may also be submitted through the official EG Awards online nomination form.
    
3. Provide nominee consent. Complete, sign, and submit the entry form.
   You may nominate yourself or an organization other than your own. In either case, the executive summary needs to be submitted as described above. The nominee(s) will need to complete and sign the standard entry form indicating their consent to be considered in the judging process and submit the appropriate supporting materials. If a nomination is submitted for another organization or individual(s) and the nominating party wishes to remain anonymous, please make a note of this on the summary form and CSCS will follow up with the nominee(s) directly for their consent and materials. One entry form must be completed for each category entered.

The Identity of companies and individuals nominated will be kept confidential. No public disclosure will be made with the exception of those companies that are selected for the shortlist in each category and of those companies that are selected as the winners.

Category Checklist
Nominations will be accepted for individual or organizations. Nominations of an individual or organization may be made in multiple categories, but each entry must be submitted separately and be accompanied by an executive summary, supporting materials, and entry form.

Nominees submitting materials to multiple categories should consider the following list as a basic reference.

• Best sustainability, ethics and environmental governance programs
  CSR reports, environmental and social engagement policies, examples of community development and advancement, corporate ethics policies and training programs, Anti-fraud and corruption policies
   
• Best use of technology in governance, risk and compliance
  Board portals, online staff training procedures, electronic proxy voting procedures, investor relations websites and online surveys, virtual annual meetings, compliance monitoring and enforcement policies
   
• Best approach to board and committee support
  Director training and orientation procedures, management of board minutes and materials, CEO evaluation policy, formal succession planning policies.
   
• Best shareholder or stakeholder engagement by a governance team
  IR policies and procedures, investor roadshows, annual report and proxy statements, sustainability report
   
• Best overall corporate governance
  Annual reports, compliance program and procedures, ethics policies, FCPA and anti-fraud reports, IR website, proxy statements, executive and CEO compensation strategy, responses to governance challenges, complaints and investigations
   
• Best approach to board diversity
  Board structure and personnel, experience and expertise disclosures, diversity policies, mandatory retirement policies
   
• Joyce Borden-Reed CSCS distinguished contribution award
  This award can be awarded to an individual only. The nomination should be accompanied by a summary of 700 words or less outlining the achievements to be taken into consideration, such as service and volunteer support provided to CSCS in the recent past as well as contribution to governance in Canada
   
• Peter Dey Lifetime achievement award
  This award can be awarded to an individual only. The nomination should be accompanied by a summary of 700 words or less of the nominee’s achievements in governance in Canada in the recent past.

Privacy
The identities of individuals and organizations entered in the nominations for the EG Awards will be kept confidential. No public disclosure of nominations or nominees will be made with the exception of those companies that are selected for the shortlist in each category.

Any nomination submitted and its supporting material will be kept confidential by CSCS and its judging panel.

Nomination materials (electronic or hard copy) submitted will be destroyed after the Awards have been presented, unless the nominee(s) request the return of materials at the time of entry via the entry form.